'Eloquently framing their success as the only successful 1960s UK pop/rock group that didn't want to be either the Beatles or the Rolling Stones, Stanfield locates the Who (and crucially their peak years, during which they were, he writes 'not copyists but innovators') at a boundary-breaking intersection of pop and art-rock.'
Tony Clayton-Lea, Irish Times

'There’s some very perceptive writing on the influence the Who had on the wider scene...Essential reading for anyone who’s ever loved the Who, or wants an insight into the Sixties’ music scene that goes beyond greatest hits compilations and easy generalizations.'
Louder Than War

'If Roger Daltry's 2018 autobiography was a prosaic foot soldier's telling of the Who story, here is a view from the high plains. . . . The best parts of the book mirror the best of the Who, fizzing with ideas and connections. . . . This book vividly reanimates the nasty, transgressive, scene-shaping thrill of their beginnings.'
Daily Mail

'[An] ear for apt detail enriches Stanfield's stolid account. He plumbs archives for ephemeral magazines and forgotten interviews to reveal more than the standard recitals of the works.'
PopMatters

'Stanfield uncovers the underpinnings of the Who. . . . He has masterfully identified the mod, pop art, and art rock stages of the Who’s career for rock fans and general readers alike.'
Library Journal